For 2nd time this season, comeback win ends up just out of reach for Platte County

GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. — With the final precious seconds ticking away, Kade Fowler plowed forward and ultimately put the game’s outcome on the result of a desperate scramble for the end zone.

Platte County’s sophomore quarterback ended up stopped short, and Grain Valley survived for a 25-19 victory in the annual regular season meeting between Suburban Conference White Division rivals on Friday night. The Eagles players and coaches mobbed the field at Grain Valley High School to celebrate while pleas to put 1 second on the clock and allow for an additional play were waved away.

For the second time this season, Platte County (3-2) lost a lead in the final minute of regulation and saw a final drive end without the needed points. Unlike in Week 2 at Blue Springs South, the Pirates needed more than a field goal this time around.

“Hats off to (Grain Valley,” Platte County first-year head coach Derek Yost said. “They had a little bit more than we did tonight in terms of their grit, their ability to grind some stuff out. But yeah, the mistakes caught up to us tonight. We knew we knew we had to play better football.”

Platte County didn’t lead until senior wide receiver Noah Omoike hauled in a 28-yard touchdown pass from Fowler behind a busted coverage with 10 minutes, 18 seconds left in regulation. The Pirates spent the first three quarters trying to recover from a turnover on the game’s first snap that immediately led to a 7-0 deficit.

A bad snap on the extra point attempt led to a failed conversion and a tenuous 19-17 lead.

After the two teams exchanged punts, Grain Valley’s final possession started on its own 29-yard line with 2:46 to go and went to the passing game and scored the winning touchdown on a simple wide receiver screen that ended with multiple Platte County would-be tacklers dragged into the end zone.

“Honestly, the defense needed another stop there, and we kind of missed on some stuff — some high tackles, stuff like that,” Yost said. “But yeah, a lot for us to clean up, going forward, and I challenged these guys on where we’re at.”

Having unnecessarily used a timeout in the red zone, Grain Valley left 37 seconds on the clock.

Fowler immediately completed a 37-yard pass to freshman tight end Braxton Seifert to move Platte County across midfield, and a pass interference penalty on a pass to Omoike put the Pirates at the Eagles’ 17 with 26 seconds to go. Fowler then just missed sophomore wide receiver Owen Yates on a pass to the left side of the end zone before a misfire over the middle that set led to what ended up the final play — a scramble right that ended inside the 5.

On 24 total dropbacks, Fowler finished 12-for-20 with a career-high 181 yards with completions spread between five receivers. He also added 24 yards rushing on nine attempts.

“Yeah, Kade did a really nice job tonight,” Yost said. “He’s continuing to grow. He’s doing his thing. Even right there at the end, he did a really nice job of running that 2-minute drill. It’s just one play short right there at the end to make the end zone.”

Entering off of a surprising loss to Raytown, Grain Valley (3-2) grabbed early momentum and sustained that advantage for most of the seventh matchup between the two schools since 2022.

Fowler completed a pass to junior tight end Hank Marriott on the first snap, and multiple Eagles defenders rallied to the receiver and stripped the ball loose. The lone reception for Marriott went for no yards and ended up as an early turnover that put the Pirates’ defense on the field at their own 32.

Grain Valley then began using midline trips, dives and outside tosses in a run-heavy offense in a unique look that often gives opponents fits. The Eagles took nearly 3 minutes off the clock with junior running back Dawson Head converting a third-and-6 with a 7-yard run, and two plays later, senior fullback Zach Dowhower plowed into the end zone from the 1 for an early 7-0 lead.

“That was kind of worst-case scenario for us,” Yost said.

Platte County regrouped behind a suddenly shorthanded offensive line. Already without sophomore guard Daxton Leueschen (knee), the Pirates lost junior center Miller Bigus to a shoulder injury during practice earlier in the week. That shifted senior Reece Moppin to center with junior Gabe Mitchell making his first career start at right guard next to junior tackle Max Shuey with seniors Cooper Koenigsfeld (tackle) and James Moiyallah (guard) on the left.

The first full rive resulted in a touchdown after Platte County converted a pair of fourth downs — one on a run from junior running back Brady McDaniel and the other on a pass from Fowler to Omoike. The Pirates tied the score at 7-7 when junior running back Caleb Hill reached the end zone for the fifth straight game, running around right side and rolling over a Grain Valley defender to stay off the ground and score from 3 yards out.

“Honestly, we’re looking at how we respond there,” Yost said. “You know, it’s a turnover. It’s a tough situation. I thought our offense came out and responded perfectly. They put up seven on the board for us.”

Platte County’s opening touchdown came with 3:47 left in the first quarter, and Grain Valley’s next drive spanned into the second and finished with a 28-yard field from sophomore kicker Ryan Ogle, who missed a potential game-winner from 42 yards out on the final play the previous week against Raytown. The Pirates answered with Fowler completing a jump ball on third-and-long to senior wide receiver Jude Brown to move across midfield.

For the fourth straight week, Platte County senior kicker Sterling Wilson made a field goal — the first of his two coming from 31 yards out with 8:13 left before halftime to create a second tie.

The critical exchange of the first half came after Grain Valley punted for the first time.

Fowler tried to throw a wide receiver screen to the left side with a quads formation, but a defender jumped the route for an interception. However, Platte County senior safety Matt Cisco (five tackles) picked off a pass on a resulting third and 10 to keep the game tied going into halftime.

“And then we had the second mistake late in that half to kind of give them another short field,” Yost said. “Kudos to our defense for holding them to a field goal, but we just can’t keep doing that. We can’t keep running negative in that turnover margin.”

After each team committed a turnover on downs, Head broke off a 34-yard run to create another scoring opportunity, and a completion from junior quarterback to Cohen Morris to senior wide receiver Terell King went for 39 more down to the 1. Morris went into the end zone on the very next play behind a sneak to put the Eagles back up 17-10.

Grain Valley consistently tested Platte County’s defensive line of senior defensive end Brody Hawk (six tackles) and Kyler Parker, junior Greyson Reik and sophomore Phin McMain (seven tackles apiece) with quick mid-line runs, while senior linebackers Carlos Baskerville (11 tackles, one for loss), Hank Fowler (11 tackles) and Maverick Troncin (six tackles) were left to try and fill in an attempt to prevent short-yardage downs. However, the Eagles were also opportunistic with the passing game in critical moments.

Platte County’s cornerback duo of Eric Dooley (three tackles) and Jordan Moore (one tackle) were put into one-on-one situations while Cisco and senior safety Jack Johnson (eight tackles, one for loss) were part of run-stopping efforts. This also limited involvement for senior nickel back Devin Lumm (one tackle).

McDaniel (two), sophomore defensive back Collin Taylor and freshman linebacker Rowdy Hawk (one) all made special teams tackles for Platte County, as well.

“It’s really easy to play the ‘what-if game’ there on a bunch of different calls on the night, but ultimately what it boils down to is, we came and did not put up our best performance in any facet — offensively, defensively, special teams,” Yost said. “I don’t think we could sit there and play the what if on it. I think we’ve just got to improve all around.”

Conversely, Platte County’s productive rushing offense struggled to create space for Hill (17 carries, 83 yards) and McDaniel (five carries, 8 yards) against Grain Valley’s stout defensive line and specifically senior standout Maui Sua. The Pirates ultimately needed to give Kade Fowler more opportunities in the passing game, and outside of three interceptions over the past two weeks, he continues to respond, having thrown for at least one touchdown in all five of his career starts and more than 120 yards in three straight games.

Fowler led Platte County on another scoring drive that closed the deficit to 17-13 late in the third quarter after Wilson, who remains perfect on the season for extra points because the bad snap later in the game resulted in a pass attempt, hit a 26-yard field goal late in the third quarter.

Grain Valley then punted for the second time, and a shanked kick resulted in the short field. Two plays later, Fowler found Omoike wide open behind the defense. Omoike (five for 62) and Brown (four for 90) finished with career-highs for receptions and yards, while Seifert added two catches for 39 yards. Nolan Sipes, a junior wide receiver, gained 12 yards on his lone grab.

Platte County’s offense missed a chance to run out the clock or produce a scoring drive to pad the lead, and a senior-laden defense ended up on the field with a chance to close out the win. A frustrating loss resulted, and the Pirates dropped from No. 2 to No. 5 in the most recent Missouri Media Class 5 poll while Grain Valley moved back into the top 10 at No. 9.

“Yeah, we felt OK after Noah scored,” I think Grain Valley was trying to play for a field goal with the way that they were doing it, so we were in a little bit of trouble there. But ultimately, they get a touchdown, which I think actually helped us out. I thought they could have almost ran the clock out on us and kicked the field goal to win, but that score was probably best-case scenario for us to try to come down and get the answer there.”

Now, Platte County hosts Raytown (4-1) and Fort Osage (2-3) on consecutive Friday’s in what ends up essentially a three-week round robin of the top contenders in Class 5 District 8. Fort Osage, which lost to Grain Valley earlier this season by five points, beat Raytown 40-0 on Friday to end the Blue Jays’ surprising unbeaten run.

Platte County currently holds the top spot in the rankings with the No. 1 seed also earning a bye in the seven-team bracket, while Grain Valley leads the Class 5 District 7 point standings.

“We’re gonna challenge them on practice habits and preparation more than anything else, this week,” Yost said. “Our energy on the road hadn’t been very good for a couple weeks. We’ve got to make sure that energy is good when we do go out on the road. You’ve got to make sure you execute, and I really think what it boils down to is our ability to execute some of those key moments, and tonight, we didn’t do it.”